Hi everyone! Today is the kickoff for Armchair BEA, which is a fun event for book-lovers who can’t attend the big Book Expo event happening this week.

Today, I’m combining by Armchair BEA introduction with the Lit Lovers Link Party. If you are stopping by for Armchair BEA, feel free to link any of your book posts to this week’s linkup!

Armchair BEA Introduction Q&A

What does diversity mean to you?

My goal this year is to read more diverse books. Diverse book’s don’t necessarily have to be written by a minority or someone from another country (although there are many amazing books and authors who fit those categories and don’t get nearly enough attention). Diverse books can also be books written in a different way, a completely original plot, or anything unexpected, really. I’ve tried to expand my reading horizons with genres and authors I wouldn’t ordinarily read.

One example of a book outside of my normal genre was Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I almost never read that kind of chick-lit story, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

What is one book everyone should read?

I think everyone should read Les Miserables, one of my all-time favorite books. There are so many movie and musical adaptations of this story, but I think a lot of what makes the book amazing is lost in these translations. The real book is a fascinating picture of human emotions.

What is your favorite genre and why?

What book are you reading right now?

Right now, I’m reading The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s not what I expected, and I’ve just started, so I can’t say whether I like it yet.

Now on to the Lit Lovers link up! Feel free to add any and all book-related posts you want! The more the merrier!

If you’re stopping by for Armchair BEA, welcome and feel free to link-up! Let me know where you came from in the comments!

Lit Lover’s Link Party

It is time for YOU! All posts linked up will be shared and pinned by me! Link your neglected book and quote posts for some extra juice! We’re here every Thursday.

Remember, you can link up as many book or quote-related posts as you want!

As always, I will feature my favorite link-up in next week’s Lit Lover’s edition. When you share your post with me, you agree to for me to use one image from your post in next week’s LL.. I will also pin all link-ups to the new Lit Lover’s Pinterest board and send you weekly link-up reminders so you can keep joining in.

If you want to be added as a contributor to the Lit Lover’s group board, just send me an e-mail at brenda at dailymayo.com with your Pinterest user name.

There is something about a color-coded bookshelf that is just lovely (Julie shows just how pretty a rainbow library can look!) and refreshing to look at. I love the idea of a color-coded library, but I am lacking in many book covers (I have far too many black books). If you also lack color variation in your book covers, then you’ll enjoy our read the rainbow series, where we take a look at new book covers all on a single color scheme.

Today, we’re continuing our read the rainbow series with books with orange covers.

And if you want to join in the fun this week, add your links to the Lit Lover’s Link up near the end of the post. Click the bolded links to purchase any of these books with orange covers.

I read the Poisonwood Bible when I was in high school and I didn’t really like it then. There is a lot in this book about harsher realities that I wasn’t ready for at the time. It is a thought-provoking book perfect for sparking discussion.

Bad Monkey is all about a humorous, unpredictable mystery that is gruesome and unexpected.

What are your favorite books with orange covers?

Lit Lover’s Book and Quote Link Up

The goal of the Lit Lover’s link-up is to feature YOU! All posts linked up will be shared and pinned by me! Link your neglected book and quote posts for some extra juice!

Remember, you can link up as many book or quote-related posts as you want!

As always, I will feature my favorite link-up in next week’s edition. When you share your post with me, you agree to for me to use one image from your post in next week’s LL and have your post shared by awesome bloggers. I will also pin all link-ups to the new Lit Lover’s Pinterest board and send you weekly link-up reminders.

Over the years, I’ve put together quite a few book lists for a variety of types and styles of books. Since I was about 8 years old, books have been my favorite thing. One time in high school, I tried to put together a list of books that I had read, and I think the list was around 600 then (not even counting picture books and little-kid books). Now, I’ve read many, many books beyond that. I have no idea what my number would be now, but I bet it’s close to 1500 at least.

Anyway, I’ve read a lot of books. Almost all of the books on my book lists I have read personally. I think that makes it easier to recommend books to someone. I thought it would be fun to put my favorite lists together in one place, so that anyone looking for book recommendations can see all of mine together. So, here you go.

Poetry and Non-Fiction

Bringing Books to Life

I hope you find this list of lists fun and informative. If any of your favorite books are lacking from any of my lists, let me know! I’ll add them. I know I’m probably forgetting some definitely must-reads on many of these lists.

If I’m an English Literature teacher, I’m going to assume I’m a college professor. The goal of most literature classes vary, but they usually cover classic stories. In my English literature class, most of the featured stories were short stories, actually. I was rather surprised. If I was the professor, I would want my students to read a variety of reading styles that were excellent examples of their genre. I would probably include:

Of course, since most students don’t even read the books in class, they probably wouldn’t realize they were missing out on amazing literature. However, if more teachers chose interesting books for their students to read, perhaps reading wouldn’t be such a chore. If all students had to read were boring classics like on the 100 “Best” Novels of the 20th Century that Time Magazine put out, it’s no wonder that no one likes literature class.

What do you think of my choices? Anything you would add/take away?

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Each year, the publication reviews the top books of the previous year. They have the top books from years going all the way back to 2009. The also have a few other features for book lists.

Since temperatures are starting to rise, you may be most interested in Summer Reads 2012. Usually, the summer reading books are a little less intense than books released throughout the rest of the year. Perhaps it is because of the tradition of beach lounging?

I actually haven’t read any of the books on this list (being pregnant really cuts down on your reading time), but some of them look really interesting!

I'm Brenda. I'm a writer and a reader. Daily Mayo is all about having fun while reading, without rules! If you love books as much as I do, join the DM Book Lover's Club to keep up with the latest in the book world and get the DM Book Club Reading List.Come get to know me and let's talk books!